Public Messes
by SeekMyFred
Summary: "Well," Lily said, in slight disbelief, "Rita Skeeter's going to have a field day." "Yep," Liam said, nodding. "Imagine that," she laughed, "'Lily Potter and Liam Davies lose their careers over a shag'"


_**Witch Weekly**_

 _Well, boys, I have some truly delightful news for the lot of you! It seems that Lily Potter, our Puddlemere United Chaser, has called it quits with her Healer lad, Scorpius Malfoy. Why, you ask? Well, Potter's representatives did not seem too keen on giving us an answer, leading me to believe that the Potter Princess isn't as lovely as she's thought to be._

 _More on this as I dig around, but until then, Potter seems to be up for grabs._

 _-Rita Skeeter_

The trashy magazine lay thrown on a coffee table. The table was jerked aside as he pushed her to the wall, and gripped her wrists in his hands. Breathing heavily, and taking in hungry expression on her, he went in for a ferocious kiss, as she slightly pulled his hair.

"Potter Princess isn't so lovely it seems," Liam said, grinning as he began to nip at her collarbone.

Lily laughed as she began unbuttoning his shirt. His hands slide underneath her top, as he suddenly jerked her face away from his. "What?" she asked, annoyed.

"Seems like a bad idea," he whispered.

"Well," she said, exasperation evident in her tone, "both our teams have been kicked out of the running, so I think we could do with a little fun here. No?"

"Huh," he replied, staring at her lips before hungrily attacking them once more. They proceeded to rip each other's clothes off, and get down to business quite smoothly. Just as Lily began to feel hints of pleasure, they heard approaching footsteps, and suddenly realised that they were naked, in quite an exposed room.

"Shit," Liam said as he pushed himself off of a laughing Lily. They roughly put whatever they could find of their clothes back on. Not wanting to be caught here, Lily yanked Liam into the adjacent door leading to the showers, and quietly shut the door.

They found themselves stuck in a small bathroom, face to face, breathing heavily as they attempted to listen to the approaching voices.

"-ridiculous performance!" a man sputtered.

"Alfred," a calm voice, which Lily recognised was her coach, Oliver Wood's, said. "You're severely overreacting. My team played well, it was a tough game. There is absolutely no need to start thinking about replacements and contracts-!"

"Oh, isn't there?!" Alfred Stone screeched. "I keep pouring money into this bloody team and for two seasons – TWO SEASONS – they haven't had a single championship win! You can go on about it being a tough game, but the truth is, your team is a fucking joke!"

As Wood was about to speak, Stone cut him off and barked, "You better make some changes, Wood, or I'll withdraw my investment and make sure you never coach a single team ever again!"

"Well, that's new," Wood said, rolling his eyes as Stone stormed off. His head whipped around as a door near him creaked open and Lily stuck her head out.

"So," she said, sheepishly grinning, "Investors giving you a hard time, eh, Coach?"

Wood snorted. "That old prick wouldn't know a good line-up if it hit him in the face."

Lily gave a half-hearted laugh, and waited for Wood to leave the room so she could sneak Liam out, but he was more interested in conversing with his Chaser. "Be honest, Potter, what did you think of your performance?"

She groaned, "Well, I certainly would've played better that goddamn Bludger hadn't hit me."

"Well, the point is to avoid the Bludgers coming at you, Potter, so that one's on you."

Lily refrained from rolling her eyes, and settled on a grumpy expression. She had played well, she knew it, and Wood knew it. But they also knew that something wasn't right with their team. Stone hadn't been completely off with his complaints; they had had two terrible championship seasons. "So," she asked, indicating to his future plans with United.

Wood sighed. "I don't know, Potter. I'll think about it. You have a good break, we'll try something new next season." Without waiting for a response, he shuffled out of the room, clearly disappointed with his team.

"Okay, let's go," Lily whispered to a still hiding Liam. He inhaled deeply when he stepped out. "Ugh, why do Puddlemere showers smell like this?"

"Fuck you," she said, grinning as she led them out of the stadium.

"Wood isn't too happy with you."

"No. No, he isn't."

"Think you'll get kicked off?"

"There's a chance, yeah."

Liam raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why does it seem like you aren't disappointed?"

Lily merely shrugged, "Of course I'll be disappointed, but you know what…forget it, I'm on break now."

"We're on break now," he pointed out, as they reached the back entrance to the stadium. As Lily reached out to push the door open, Liam grabbed her hand. "So, what now?"

Lily frowned. "What do you mean, what now?"

"Your place or mine? Pick up where we left off?"

"Ah, yes," she smirked, "I think I was treated rather unfairly at our last session."

"Mmm," he agreed, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I simply must make it up to you." He pushed the door open to reveal twenty or so reporters and photographers, ecstatic at what they had found. Lily's eyes widened as she slammed the door shut.

"Oh fuck," she muttered.

"Oh fuck indeed," he replied, as they stared at each other, realising the gravity of the situation.

It wasn't that they were not used to being followed by reporters. Being Harry Potter's daughter and all that, Lily had had her life in the papers since she was born. And now, being famous in her own right, due to her Quidditch, made her a regular appearance in the newspapers. Liam hadn't had his fame since his childhood, but was quite used to it now that he played Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons.

The problem was that one of the most emphasised rules of the English Quidditch Federation was that fraternising with any fellow Quidditch players was expressly prohibited. They believed it would cause a multitude of problems that were unnecessary and would hinder the fairness of the sport. While there was a hint of logic in this rule, it was quite ridiculous: Quidditch in other countries went off without a hitch without this rule.

But as they say, rules are rules, and while many English players snuck around and broke that rule, they made sure to keep it hidden. Liam and Lily, however, were seemingly caught red handed. And knowing the media, the report would make it seem as though they were literally caught having sex.

Now, to the consequences of breaking this rule: it could stretch from a ban from one game to an overall ban from Quidditch, depending on Federation's judgement, and they were known for being quite a corrupt organisation.

Naturally, Lily and Liam were left contemplating the potential end of their Quidditch careers. "Well," Lily said, in slight disbelief, "Rita Skeeter's going to have a field day."

"Yep," Liam said, nodding.

"Imagine that," she laughed, "'Lily Potter and Liam Davies lose their careers over a shag!'"

He couldn't help but laugh. "Your dad's lawyers would come in handy at this point."

"My dad's lawyers will refuse to deal with a case so stupid."

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Well, no point just sitting here, love. Let's just wait for our publicists to deal with it tomorrow."

"Can't wait," she groaned.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Lauren Fitch screeched.

"Well, I was-" Lily started off, exasperated, but was cut off by more screeching from her publicist. "You weren't thinking at all, were you? You never think! For once maybe, realise the position that you hold, and act responsibly!"

Lily rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. She had lost count of the number of times she'd received this exact same lecture. First it was when she refused to take on a publicist, because, really, she thought it was unnecessary. And after that, it was any time that she ruined the "Princess Potter" image that Lauren tried so hard to cultivate.

As Lily stood up, Lauren snapped, "And just where are you going?"

"Oh you know, to fuck Liam," she said, casually, knowing it would drive her publicist crazy.

"Lily," Lauren thundered. "Sit down, I am not finished with you!"

Lily had had enough. "Well, I'm finished with you," she said, as gently as she could, as Lauren stared at her in shock. "Look, I screwed up, I know. I think it's punishment enough that I've been summoned to the Federation for a hearing. And honestly, aren't you tired of cleaning up my messes?"

Lauren struggled to find words for a few minutes, and finally managed to say, "But my job is to clean up your messes."

"Lauren, I'm grateful, really. But I can't live up to this image you've tried creating for me. And I know I'm not an easy person to handle. I promise I'll find you another client, I'm not just going to leave you hanging."

Lauren was at a loss for words. She knew Lily was a good person, but didn't care much for her. But having Harry Potter's daughter as a client really boosted her status, and she enjoyed the benefits.

Lily came forward and hugged her now former publicist. "Thanks for all you've done, Lauren, but I'll clean up my own messes from now on." And with that, she left the grey building that she loathed oh so much.

Liam, on the other hand, had his publicist wrapped around his finger.

"Mr Davies," Anna Lance began nervously.

"Liam," he corrected, winking.

"Liam," she said, attempting to hide her blush despite her nervousness. "I really don't see how you want me to spin this situation. Look at the pictures, I mean, they practically caught you-"

"Anna," he said, smiling confidently as he held her shoulders. "If anyone can fix this little mess, it's you. I'm sure you'll find a way." He winked at her once more, and began walking out of her office.

"I'll get right on it Mr-Liam!" she said, blushing with excitement.

"Counting on you!" he replied, over his shoulder.

Pictures of Lily and Liam in a partial embrace were splashed all across the papers. They had both received summons from the Federation. Oliver Wood had sent Lily a Howler, which consisted of him mostly just yelling incoherently in rage.

Lily groaned as she reached the entrance to St. Mungo's. The problem with the Federation was not the only mess she had to fix.


End file.
